Game Recap/Notes: Game #11. Pistons 112 - Thunder 103. (3-8)
Nice to win one. The Thunder are obviously bad but the Pistons will take whatever they can get, and to do so in comeback fashion is particularly nice.
Cade Cunningham:
Not an awesome night, he needed more than 21 shots to get his 21 points and had 5 turnovers with his 7 assists, but given that he’s had several positive games in the efficiency department lately we can live with these games. Given how much is put on his shoulders as the offensive engine every night, it is almost inevitable that he will have poor efficiency in some games and because he’s by far the teams top creator even on off nights he has no choice but to keep chugging along.
On the positive, he did just that. He got up tough shots, made some excellent passes, and chipped in with 11 rebounds. So even on a night where the efficiency is not where it needs to be, (and on the season it’s still not very good) he was still an integral part of the victory.
Jaden Ivey:
Ivey is pretty much in a similar boat as Cade but with less “he does everything” excuse baked in. 15 points on 15 shots, 2-7 from deep, 6 assists against 2 turnovers. He also chipped in on the glass with 11 boards and also had a pair of steals and 3 blocks. Ivey should probably also be a bit less trigger-happy from beyond the three-point line. Its totally understandable that he wants to punish teams who go under screens, but he is still at his best when he’s attacking the hoop.
Ivey’s 3 blocks and 2 steals do not mean he was some sort of defensive force, he doesn’t lock in on a possession by possession basis for that, but it is a good sign that as he gets more comfortable playing NBA defense he certainly looks like a plus defender for the future.
Saddiq Bey:
25 points on 21 shot equivalents by going 8-17 from the field (1-7 from deep) and 8-8 from the line. With 5 rebounds and a pair of assists it doesn’t sound like a game where Saddiq stood out but he did. He made many big plays, got tough buckets, and his aggression in getting to the line was huge. I cannot stress enough just how impressed I have been with Bey this season, I am officially turning in my Saddiq Bey hater card as of this morning. I owe him an apology.
Why the turnaround on Bey?
Part of my earlier assessments are not wrong, a Kris Middleton comparison was popping up places and some suggestions of stardom for Bey are still way off so I don’t need to apologize for that. His level of play always was going to end up as a 4thish option on a team and I basically assumed that his game wouldn’t adjust very well to it. I doubted his ability to go from an inefficient player who got to shoot a ton on awful teams, to becoming a hyper-efficient player who scores between 15 and 20 per game and yet, here he is, 4th on the team in shot attempts, scoring 17 per game, on good efficiency.
So hats off to you Saddiq Bey, I figured he would be a bit player on this team who took a couple of threes and maybe scored 10 points per game.
Bojan Bogdanovic:
Bojan was not overly impactful. 12 points on 13 shot equivalents and 2 rebounds on the night. His shooting is obviously still valuable just for the spacing it provides, but he didn’t find many holes to exploit in the Thunder defense. To his credit, he didn’t try to force it which he has done on occasion.
Isaiah Stewart:
Still a huge drag on the offense but at least hit a three tonight and got to 11 points on 9 equivalents. He also chipped in with 12 boards against the small Thunder front-court and generally made solid defensive plays when he wasn’t getting called for fouls.
Isaiah Livers:
5 points on 6 shots with 5 rebounds. Not his best night but he did his job.
Jalen Duren:
Back from injury for 21 minutes of action, 7 points on 8 equivalents with 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. It is again obvious that having his size and athleticism helps a great deal on both ends of the court and it still looks like it will only be a matter of time before he supplants Stewart in the starting lineup. Maybe the best trend for Duren is that he looks comfortable with the ball in his hands.
Obviously Duren isn’t exactly handling the ball regularly, but when he does he is controlled, comfortable, and occasionally makes smart passes. This doesn’t make much difference now, but it is an important bedrock to have for the future.
Killian Hayes:
5 points on 2-5 shots and went 1-2 from the line and tossed 4 assists. He wasn’t good, but at least he was aggressive tonight and both his buckets were impressive.
Hamidou Diallo:
Diallo had an excellent night. 11 points on 8 equivalents, 8 rebounds, and in just 18 minutes. Diallo is not always good, in fact he’s often bad. He’s such an awkward fit that it’s hard for him to really find a good groove, but in his favor is that he at least tries to make stuff happen for a bench unit that desperately needs more things to happen. Tonight it worked out.
General:
Good, important win. I mentioned in the preview that winning games like this is how you keep morale from dropping into the basement and I stand by that. Even though most guys didn’t even play that well, getting the occasional win, especially after the debacles of the previous couple, is important.